Little Rock, AR to Syracuse, NY
Posted by Anthony
Well, after a string of forecasts that all involved a bigger threat of a January sunburn than any type of precipitation, a three-day road trip could involve all kinds of threats right? Well, at least we should get a little bit of winter weather on this 1,197 mile voyage!
DAY ONE
We embark on our journey heading out of Little Rock, traveling east towards Memphis. High pressure over the MS River Valley will shift east today, keeping us under fairly calm weather throughout the duration of today's leg. A decent swath of snow hit the Ohio Valley yesterday and today, so a low deck of clouds may continue to stick around as we cruise through Nashville and Bowling Green in the wake of that system. The quiet day continues as we roll into Louisville, our stop for Night One
DAY TWO
While high pressure continues to influence the Ohio Valley, a bit of a stationary front is setting up from the Mid-Atlantic to the Southern Plains as a system dropping southward from WY to OK yesterday made us thankful we left when we did (MORE snow for OK and AR!!). There's a slight chance we might see a few flurries at the onset of our day, heading northwards for Cincy and onwards to Columbus. For the most part, we should avoid those as they stay off to the south with the suspect system in the Southern Plains. The weather will get a bit more ominous, however, as we bypass Cleveland en route for Erie, PA, our stop for Night Two. Gusty winds are expected as we get closer to the lake, and with them coming predominately from the west, there's a good chance of some lake effect snows hitting the final part of our trip in northeast Ohio and into PA.
DAY THREE
Only a relatively short day today, covering the 235 miles from Erie to our destination in New York. However, with winds possible shifting from the west-southwest, this leads to a strong chance of lake effect snows piling up as we make our way from Erie to Buffalo and head eastwards from there. Hopefully it doesn't pile up TOO much, as some of these bands are well-known for dropping prolific snowfalls, sometimes to the tune of 2-3" an hour for several hours. As we move east from Buffalo to Syracuse, only some light snows are expected with mainly cloudy skies to our destination.
Pensacola, Florida to Syracuse, New York
Posted by Ryan
Are you ready for a nice little surprise road trip? It's going to be a chilly drive, even from Florida where it is unusually cool right now. The distance will be 1293 miles and will take us 2 and a half days. We will be fairly methodical in this drive, and will average only 62.3mph, which will mean that we can cover only about 499 miles a day. Let's head out now, ahead of a storm that is going to explode over the center of the country this weekend.
DAY ONE
High pressure and remarkably cool air will be the name of the game on Thursday as we begin our jaunt northward. Temperatures will be below freezing for most locations along our route overnight tonight, but sunny skies will warm things back up into the 30s and 40s. There won't be any precipitation, and as I said, it should be sunny, so the drive will actually be quite comfortable, despite below average temperatures.
DAY TWO
The drive through the mountains of Appalachia will be pleasant, especially given the season, which can often be a bear. The snow will not be falling, and the sun will shine, so we should have no problems. Clouds will begin to filter into Pennsylvania by evening, but we should stop driving near Shippensburg, Pennsylvania long before any snow starts.
DAY THREE
Any flurry activity that they do see in Shippensburg will come overnight Friday. The clipper system that will be the culprit for snow in New York. It is going to move very quickly, though, and snow will already have ceased as we drive through New York. An ominous, explosively developing system over the Mississippi Valley will lurk west of our route allowing us to get to Syracuse unscathed.
Syracuse, New York
Posted by Ryan
As you can see, this is not an Off the Grid. Unfortunately the series is no more. Instead, we will continue with a forecast for Syracuse today and a road trip from Pensacola to Syracuse. So let's forecast.
At 1154AM, ET, Syracuse was reporting snow, fog and a temperature of 21 degrees. Streams of snow were banding off of Lake Ontario through Syracuse and south towards Ithaca and Binghamton. This is all associated with a broad area of low pressure over the Maritimes of Canada which is directing northwesterly flow over the still comparably warm Great Lakes.
This snowy flow is expected to continue through most of the day tomorrow when some ridging will be able to work it to a southerly flow or perhaps no overriding flow at all, which will cut off the flurry activity on Friday. Southerly flow will surely pick up eventually over Syracuse, as a fairly strong clipper will develop over the Great Lakes and begin drifting east. Some snow will likely pick up again late in the day for Syracuse, though it will by based on the synoptics of the system, rather than the lakes, which should allay snow fall totals early in the weekend.
Tomorrow - Snow continues, High 24, Low 14
Friday - Clearing early, with snow returning in the evening, High 30, Low 10
TWC: Tomorrow - Intermittent snow showers, especially early. Cold. High 22, Low 16
Friday - Chance of a few snow showers. High 32, Low 8
AW: Tomorrow - A couple of morning snow showers; otherwise, cold with clouds giving way to some sun High 22, Low 11
Friday - Cloudy with some snow with little or no accumulation High 33, Low 9
NWS: Tomorrow - Snow showers, mainly before 8am. High 23, Low 18
Friday - A chance of snow after 10am. Cloudy, High 30, Low 13
WB: Tomorrow - Mostly cloudy with snow showers in the morning...then partly sunny with scattered snow showers in the afternoon. Additional snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. High 23, Low 19
Friday - Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow High 32, Low 14
The models are in disagreement on the temperatures, but almost everybody had the same thinking on the highs, trending towards warmer guidance. Here is a look at the radar and the flurries across the area.
Everybody’s perfect
Posted by Ryan
At one point in the forecast period, every single one of the forecasters had a perfect verification, be it a high or a low. at some point in the forecast for Syracuse. That said, there were some pretty good forecasts on this occasion, with Victoria-Weather and Accuweather getting a tie on top.
Actuals: Friday - High 73, Low 52
Saturday -High 81, Low 52
Grade: A
Syracuse, New York
Posted by Ryan
I'm getting to this late, and I really have no good excuse as to why. Sorry, Syracuse.
At 1254AM, ET, Syracuse was reporting a temperature of 55 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. The chilly air was thanks in large part to a dominant ridge of high pressure behind a cool front that has pushed off the New England coast.
Syracuse will remain in their present pattern, as the upper level ridge is well entrenched. Temperatures will warm slightly over the next couple of days, owing to the late summer sun that will be in abundance.
Tomorrow - Sunny, High 75, Low 52
Saturday - Sunshine continues, High 82, Low 52
TWC: Tomorrow - Mainly sunny High 73, Low 55
Saturday - Sunshine. High 81, Low 56
AW: Tomorrow- Areas of morning fog; otherwise, mostly sunny High 74, Low 51
Saturday - Patchy fog in the morning; otherwise, mostly sunny and warmer; a beautiful start to the weekend High 81, Low 53
NWS: Tomorrow- Sunny, High 74, Low 51
Saturday - Sunny High 81, Low 54
WB: Tomorrow - Mostly Sunny, High 74, Low 51
Saturday - Sunny, High 81, Low 54
Thank you, Accuweather, for your commentary. It is much appreciated. Here is a look at the satellite, and OH NO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REST OF NEW ENGLAND?!
